46110 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No.
152 / Tuesday, August 9, 2005 / Proposed Rules
the emergency procedures used in the
event of a fire during flight, including
the use of Vmo/Mmo descent profiles and
a simulated landing, if such conditions
are specified in the emergency
procedure.
b. Requirement for fire detection in
electrical equipment bays:
A smoke or fire detection system that
complies with 14 CFR 25.858(c) and (d)
must be provided for each electrical
equipment bay. Each system must
provide a visual indication to the flight
deck within one minute after the start of
a fire in an electrical equipment bay.
Airplane tests must be conducted to
show compliance with this requirement,
and the performance of the smoke or fire
detection system must be shown, in
accordance with Advisory Circular 25–
9A or by other means acceptable to the
FAA.
Issued in Renton, Washington, on July 18,
2005.
Ali Bahrami,
Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate,
Aircraft Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 05–15656 Filed 8–8–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–13–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 25
[Docket No. NM314; Notice No. 25–05–09–
SC]
Special Conditions: Airbus Model
A380–800 Airplane; Stairways Between
Decks
AGENCY: Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of proposed special
conditions.
SUMMARY: This notice proposes special
conditions for the Airbus A380–800
airplane. This airplane will have novel
or unusual design features when
compared to the state of technology
envisioned in the airworthiness
standards for transport category
airplanes. Many of these novel or
unusual design features are associated
with the complex systems and the
configuration of the airplane, including
its full-length double deck. For these
design features, the applicable
airworthiness regulations do not contain
adequate or appropriate safety standards
regarding stairways between decks.
These proposed special conditions
contain the additional safety standards
that the Administrator considers
necessary to establish a level of safety
equivalent to that established by the
VerDate jul<14>2003 15:10 Aug 08, 2005 Jkt 205001
existing airworthiness standards.
Additional special conditions will be
issued for other novel or unusual design
features of the Airbus Model A380–800
airplane.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before September 23, 2005.
ADDRESSES: Comments on this proposal
may be mailed in duplicate to: Federal
Aviation Administration, Transport
Airplane Directorate, Attention: Rules
Docket (ANM–113), Docket No. NM314,
1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton,
Washington 98055–4056; or delivered in
duplicate to the Transport Airplane
Directorate at the above address. All
comments must be marked: Docket No.
NM314. Comments may be inspected in
the Rules Docket weekdays, except
Federal holidays, between 7:30 a.m. and
4 p.m.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Holly Thorson, FAA, International
Branch, ANM–116, Transport Airplane
Directorate, Aircraft Certification
Service, 1601 Lind Avenue SW.,
Renton, Washington 98055–4056;
telephone (425) 227–1357; facsimile
(425) 227–1149.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Comments Invited
The FAA invites interested persons to
participate in this rulemaking by
submitting written comments, data, or
views. The most helpful comments
reference a specific portion of the
special conditions, explain the reason
for any recommended change, and
include supporting data. We ask that
you send us two copies of written
comments.
We will file in the docket all
comments we receive as well as a report
summarizing each substantive public
contact with FAA personnel concerning
these proposed special conditions. The
docket is available for public inspection
before and after the comment closing
date. If you wish to review the docket
in person, go to the address in the
ADDRESSES section of this notice
between 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
We will consider all comments we
receive on or before the closing date for
comments. We will consider comments
filed late, if it is possible to do so
without incurring expense or delay. We
may change the proposed special
conditions in light of the comments we
receive.
If you want the FAA to acknowledge
receipt of your comments on this
proposal, include with your comments
a pre-addressed, stamped postcard on
which the docket number appears. We
PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\09AUP1.SGM
will stamp the date on the postcard and
mail it back to you.
Background
Airbus applied for FAA certification/
validation of the provisionally-
designated Model A3XX–100 in its
letter AI/L 810.0223/98, dated August
12, 1998, to the FAA. Application for
certification by the Joint Aviation
Authorities (JAA) of Europe had been
made on January 16, 1998, reference AI/
L 810.0019/98. In its letter to the FAA,
Airbus requested an extension to the 5-
year period for type certification in
accordance with 14 CFR 21.17(c). The
request was for an extension to a 7-year
period, using the date of the initial
application letter to the JAA as the
reference date. The reason given by
Airbus for the request for extension is
related to the technical challenges,
complexity, and the number of new and
novel features on the airplane. On
November 12, 1998, the Manager,
Aircraft Engineering Division, AIR–100,
granted Airbus’ request for the 7-year
period, based on the date of application
to the JAA.
In its letter AI/LE–A 828.0040/99
Issue 3, dated July 20, 2001, Airbus
stated that its target date for type
certification of the Model A380–800 has
been moved from May 2005, to January
2006, to match the delivery date of the
first production airplane. In accordance
with 14 CFR 21.17(d)(2), Airbus chose a
new application date of April 20, 1999,
and requested that the 7-year
certification period which had already
been approved be continued. The part
25 certification basis for the Model
A380–800 airplane was adjusted to
reflect the new application date.
The Model A380–800 airplane will be
an all-new, four-engine jet transport
airplane with a full double-deck, two-
aisle cabin. The maximum takeoff
weight will be 1.235 million pounds
with a typical three-class layout of 555
passengers.
Type Certification Basis
Under the provisions of 14 CFR 21.17,
Airbus must show that the Model A380–
800 airplane meets the applicable
provisions of 14 CFR part 25, as
amended by Amendments 25–1 through
25–98. If the Administrator finds that
the applicable airworthiness regulations
do not contain adequate or appropriate
safety standards for the Airbus A380–
800 airplane because of novel or
unusual design features, special
conditions are prescribed under the
provisions of 14 CFR 21.16.
In addition to the applicable
airworthiness regulations and special
conditions, the Airbus Model A380–800
09AUP1
 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 152 / Tuesday, August 9, 2005 / Proposed Rules
airplane must comply with the fuel vent
and exhaust emission requirements of
14 CFR part 34 and the noise
certification requirements of 14 CFR
part 36. In addition, the FAA must issue
a finding of regulatory adequacy
pursuant to section 611 of Public Law
93–574, the ‘‘Noise Control Act of
1972.’’
Special conditions, as defined in 14
CFR 11.19, are issued in accordance
with 14 CFR 11.38 and become part of
the type certification basis in
accordance with 14 CFR 21.17(a)(2),
Amendment 21–69, effective September
16, 1991.
Special conditions are initially
applicable to the model for which they
are issued. Should the type certificate
for that model be amended later to
include any other model that
incorporates the same novel or unusual
design feature, or should any other
model already included on the same
type certificate be modified to
incorporate the same novel or unusual
design features, the special conditions
would also apply to the other model
under the provisions of 14 CFR
21.101(a)(1), Amendment 21–69,
effective September 16, 1991.
Discussion of Novel or Unusual Design
Features
The A380 incorporates seating on two
full-length passenger decks, each of
which has the capacity of a typical wide
body airplane. Two staircases—one
located in the front of the cabin and one
located in the rear—allow for the
movement of persons between decks.
With large seating capacities on the
main deck and the upper deck of the
A380–800 airplane, the staircases need
to be able to support movement between
decks in an inflight emergency. In
addition, although compliance with the
evacuation demonstration requirements
of § 25.803 does not depend on the use
of stairs, there must be a way for
passengers on one deck to move to the
other deck during an emergency
evacuation. This need must be
addressed in the certification of the
airplane.
The regulations governing the
certification of the A380 do not
adequately address a passenger airplane
with two separate full-length decks for
passengers. The Boeing 747 and
Lockheed L–1011 airplanes were
certificated with limited seating
capacity on two separate decks, and
special conditions were issued to
certificate those arrangements. When
the seating capacity of the upper deck
of the Boeing 747 exceeded 24
passengers, the FAA issued Special
Conditions 25–61–NW–1 for a
VerDate jul<14>2003 15:10 Aug 08, 2005 Jkt 205001
maximum seat capacity of 32 passengers
on the upper deck for take-off and
landing. A second set of Special
Conditions, 25–71–NW–3, was issued to
cover airplanes with a maximum seating
capacity of 45 passengers on the upper
deck for take-off and landing. That
second set of Special Conditions was
later modified to address airplanes with
a maximum seating capacity of 110
passengers on the upper deck. These
previously issued special conditions
provided a starting point for the
development of special conditions for
the A380–800 airplane.
In the case of both the L1011 and the
747, the special conditions were based
on the requirements and associated
level of safety in place at the time of
application for type certificate. The
requirements and the level of safety
have improved significantly since that
time, and these special conditions
reflect those improvements.
The FAA is proposing—in addition to
the requirements of §§ 25.803 and
25.811 through 25.813—special
conditions to address the movement of
passengers between the two full-length
decks on the Model A380. These special
conditions provide additional
requirements for the stairways to ensure
the safe passage of occupants between
decks during moderate turbulence, an
inflight emergency, or an emergency
evacuation.
Applicability
As discussed above, these special
conditions are applicable to the Airbus
A380–800 airplane. Should Airbus
apply at a later date for a change to the
type certificate to include another
model incorporating the same novel or
unusual design features, these special
conditions would apply to that model as
well under the provisions of
§ 21.101(a)(1), Amendment 21–69,
effective September 16, 1991.
Conclusion
This action affects only certain novel
or unusual design features of the Airbus
A380–800 airplane. It is not a rule of
general applicability, and it affects only
the applicant which applied to the FAA
for approval of these features on the
airplane.
List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 25
Aircraft, Aviation safety, Reporting
and recordkeeping requirements.
The authority citation for these
special conditions is as follows:
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40113, 44701,
44702, 44704.
PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\09AUP1.SGM
46111
The Proposed Special Conditions
Accordingly, pursuant to the
authority delegated to me by the
Administrator, the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) proposes the
following special conditions as part of
the type certification basis for the
Airbus A380–800 airplane.
In addition to the requirements of
§§ 25.803 and 25.811 through 25.813,
the following special conditions apply:
a. At least one stairway between decks
must meet the following requirements:
The stairway accommodates the
carriage of an incapacitated person from
one deck to the other. The crew member
procedures for such carriage must be
established.
b. At least two stairways between
decks must meet the following
requirements:
The stairways must be designed such
that evacuees can achieve an adequate
rate for going down or going up under
probable emergency conditions,
including a condition in which a person
falls or is incapacitated while on a
stairway. One of these two stairways
must be the stairway specified in
paragraph a. above.
c. Each stairway between decks must
meet the following requirements:
1. It must have an entrance, exit, and
gradient characteristics that—with the
assistance of a crew member—would
allow the passengers of one deck to
merge with passengers of the other deck
during an evacuation and exit the
airplane. These entrance, exit, and
gradient characteristics must occur with
the airplane in level attitude and in each
attitude resulting from the collapse of
any one or more legs of the landing gear.
These requirements must be
demonstrated by tests and/or analysis.
2. The stairway must have a handrail
on at least one side in order to allow
people to steady themselves during
foreseeable conditions, including but
not limited to the condition of gear
collapse on the ground and moderate
turbulence in flight. The handrails must
be constructed, so that there will be no
obstruction on them which will cause
the user to release his/her grip on the
handrail or will hinder the continuous
movement of the hands along the
handrail. Handrails must be terminated
in a manner which will not obstruct
pedestrian travel or create a hazard.
Adequacy of the design must be
demonstrated by using persons
representative of the 5% female and the
95% male.
3. The stairway must be designed and
located to minimize damage to it during
an emergency landing or ditching.
4. The stairway must have a wall or
the equivalent on each side to minimize
09AUP1
 46112 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 152 / Tuesday, August 9, 2005 / Proposed Rules
the risk of falling and to facilitate use of
the stairway under conditions of
abnormal airplane attitude.
5. Treads and landings must be
designed and demonstrated to be free of
hazard. The landing area at each deck
level must be demonstrated to be
adequate in terms of flow rate for the
maximum number of people that will be
using the stair in an emergency. Treads
and risers must be designed to ensure an
easy and safe use of the stairway.
6. General emergency illumination
must be provided so that—when
measured along the centerlines of each
tread and landing—the illumination is
not less than 0.05 foot-candle.
7. In normal operation, the general
illumination level must not be less than
0.05 foot-candles. The assessment must
be done under day light and dark of
night conditions.
8. Both stairway ends must be
indicated by an exit sign visible to
passengers when in the stairway. This
exit sign must meet the requirements of
§ 25.812(b)(1)(ii).
9. A floor proximity path marking
system which meets the requirements of
§ 25.812(e) must be available to guide
passengers in the stairway to the
stairway ends. It must not direct the
occupants of the cabin to the stair
entrance.
10. The public address system must
be audible in the stairway during all
flight phases.
11. ‘‘No smoking’’ and ‘‘return to
seat’’ signs must be installed and must
be visible in the stairway both going up
and down and at the stairway entrances.
d. Cabin crew procedures and
positions must be established to control
the use of the stairs on the ground and
in flight under both normal and
emergency situations. This may require
that cabin crew members have specific
dedicated duties for the control of the
stairs during emergency and
precautionary evacuations.
e. It should not be hazardous for crew
members or passengers who are
returning to their seats to use the
stairways during moderate turbulence.
Issued in Renton, Washington, on July 19,
2005.
Ali Bahrami,
Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate,
Aircraft Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 05–15657 Filed 8–8–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–13–P
VerDate jul<14>2003 15:10 Aug 08, 2005 Jkt 205001
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 25
[Docket No. NM315; Notice No. 25–05–10–
SC]
Special Conditions: Airbus Model
A380–800 Airplane; Emergency Exit
Arrangement—Outside Viewing
AGENCY: Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of proposed special
conditions.
SUMMARY: This notice proposes special
conditions for the Airbus A380–800
airplane. This airplane will have novel
or unusual design features when
compared to the state of technology
envisioned in the airworthiness
standards for transport category
airplanes. Many of these novel or
unusual design features are associated
with the complex systems and the
configuration of the airplane, including
its full-length double deck. For these
design features, the applicable
airworthiness regulations do not contain
adequate or appropriate safety standards
regarding outside viewing from
emergency exits. These proposed
special conditions contain the
additional safety standards that the
Administrator considers necessary to
establish a level of safety equivalent to
that established by the existing
airworthiness standards. Additional
special conditions will be issued for
other novel or unusual design features
of the Airbus Model A380–800 airplane.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before September 23, 2005.
ADDRESSES: Comments on this proposal
may be mailed in duplicate to: Federal
Aviation Administration, Transport
Airplane Directorate, Attention: Rules
Docket (ANM–113), Docket No. NM315,
1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton,
Washington 98055–4056; or delivered in
duplicate to the Transport Airplane
Directorate at the above address. All
comments must be marked: Docket No.
NM315. Comments may be inspected in
the Rules Docket weekdays, except
Federal holidays, between 7:30 a.m. and
4 p.m.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Holly Thorson, FAA, International
Branch, ANM–116, Transport Airplane
Directorate, Aircraft Certification
Service, 1601 Lind Avenue SW.,
Renton, Washington 98055–4056;
telephone (425) 227–1357; facsimile
(425) 227–1149.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\09AUP1.SGM
Comments Invited
The FAA invites interested persons to
participate in this rulemaking by
submitting written comments, data, or
views. The most helpful comments
reference a specific portion of the
special conditions, explain the reason
for any recommended change, and
include supporting data. We ask that
you send us two copies of written
comments.
We will file in the docket all
comments we receive as well as a report
summarizing each substantive public
contact with FAA personnel concerning
these proposed special conditions. The
docket is available for public inspection
before and after the comment closing
date. If you wish to review the docket
in person, go to the address in the
ADDRESSES section of this notice
between 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
We will consider all comments we
receive on or before the closing date for
comments. We will consider comments
filed late, if it is possible to do so
without incurring expense or delay. We
may change the proposed special
conditions in light of the comments we
receive.
If you want the FAA to acknowledge
receipt of your comments on this
proposal, include with your comments
a pre-addressed, stamped postcard on
which the docket number appears. We
will stamp the date on the postcard and
mail it back to you.
Background
Airbus applied for FAA certification/
validation of the provisionally
designated Model A3XX–100 in its
letter AI/L 810.0223/98, dated August
12, 1998, to the FAA. Application for
certification by the Joint Aviation
Authorities (JAA) of Europe had been
made on January 16, 1998, reference AI/
L 810.0019/98. In its letter to the FAA,
Airbus requested an extension to the 5-
year period for type certification in
accordance with 14 CFR 21.17(c). The
request was for an extension to a 7-year
period, using the date of the initial
application letter to the JAA as the
reference date. The reason given by
Airbus for the request for extension is
related to the technical challenges,
complexity, and the number of new and
novel features on the airplane. On
November 12, 1998, the Manager,
Aircraft Engineering Division, AIR–100,
granted Airbus’ request for the 7-year
period, based on the date of application
to the JAA.
In its letter AI/LE-A 828.0040/99 Issue
3, dated July 20, 2001, Airbus stated that
its target date for type certification of
09AUP1